A double tragedy provided the spur for Huddersfield man Jez Joseph to shed an amazing 8st in weight.

Now the 31-year-old electronics engineer – who was hit by the deaths of his grandfather and a close friend – will run in the Landmarks Half-Marathon on Sunday (March 25) to raise money in her memories after dropping from a hefty 21st to a trim 13st in little over a year.

Jez and his grandad Decosta Simpson, better known as Charlie, were both diagnosed with diabetes five years ago. Charlie’s condition was such that surgeons had to amputate his feet, leaving him confined to a wheelchair.

“It was a motivational moment for me,” said Jez. “I was thinking at the age of 30 that the same things that had happened to my granddad might start happening to me by the time I’m 40. He was in a wheelchair for quite some time. When he was diagnosed with diabetes his circulation degraded and his feet had to be removed.”

Jez Joseph's grandfather, Decosta Simpson, known as Charlie

Charlie died in March, 2016, aged 71. “He had been living in Huddersfield for more than 40 years and had a relatively good life with family and friend around him,” said Jez. “But losing someone so close hit me a lot harder than I thought it would.”

The second thunderbolt came with the death of Jez’s friend Phil Rollings, aged 31, in April last year.

By then, another friend had “kick-started” a change in lifestyle for Jez by taking him to the gym three times a week to start exercising.

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Jez also took to speed walking on the streets, although his bulky frame caused some reaction. “Car drivers would sound their horns and with other people you could see they were thinking ‘he doesn’t have a hope in hell!’ I just kept on going and by the time I signed up for the half-marathon I found myself walking everywhere.

“I was also doing a lot of research as well as exercising. A lot of it was doing gym work, but also getting better eating habits. I lost two-and-a-half to three stones in the first three months and hit a plateau before losing a further five stones between last November and the end of February.

“I have been a vegetarian all my life. It was a case of making good options and reducing the amount of food I was eating. I didn’t cut out a single thing. When it comes to losing weight, it’s not necessarily the things you eat, but the amounts and frequency of eating.”

Jez Joseph, pictured running up the steps to Castle Hill.

Jez’s exercise regime included running a half-marathon on the treadmill at the gym. “It took me over three-and-a-half hours,” he said. Jez also went running late at night and regularly trekked from Outlane to Oldham over the moors. He also got into cycling and is now planning to complete a coast-to-coast cycle ride in the near future.

Jez said his transformation surprised his friends. “One of the funny things is that over the last two or three months I have seen people I know in the street who have walked straight past me because they don’t recognise me now,” he said.

“I had to sell every item of clothing I owned. There was a major eBay sale at Christmas followed by lots of expense finding replacements in the Boxing Day sales! I’ve even dropped a shoe size or two because the diabetes had made my feet swell due to fluid retention.”

Jez said that when his condition was at its worst, to control his diabetes he was taking 100-plus tablets a week and having 300 units of insulin a day. Now, his Type 2 diabetes is controlled by sensible eating and a daily dose of multi-vitamins.

Last year, Jez took part in a 10k run at Chatsworth House, where he met fellow competitors Olympian Jessica Ennis and DJ and presenter Trevor Nelson.

In London, Jez is raising funds for the British Heart Foundation in memory of his granddad and for PAC-UK, a group offering counselling and training for people affected by adoption, for his friend Phil Rollings.

Donate at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/manbiggs or uk.virginmoneygiving.com/run4phil